Daytona Supercross: KTM’s Dungey Out

While practicing at his training facility in Florida for last weekend’s Supercross round in St. Louis, Red Bull KTM Factory’s Ryan Dungey suffered a crash.

The 2010 AMA Supercross Champion landed hard on his shoulder, and was initially diagnosed with a crack in his collarbone. But Dungey battled through the pain, and went on to finish second behind Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto at St. Louis.

But following St. Louis Supercross, Dungey went for further tests. The KTM SX-F 450 rider’s doctors said the injuries were more extensive than initially thought, and recommended surgery. Dungey decided to undergo surgery Tuesday afternoon, having a plate inserted into his collarbone.

Due to recovery, Dungey will be forced to miss this weekend’s Supercross round at Daytona, where he finished third last season. As for his return, nothing was reported.

Roger DeCoster (Red Bull KTM Supercross Team Manager) says: "This is hard for everyone on the team. Ryan has done an amazing job adapting to a completely new bike this year. Through the process he has won two Supercross races and has finished on the podium at seven of nine races. He was well in the thick of the championship hunt at the midway point in the series.

"It is often heard around the pits that Ryan needs to get more aggressive and tougher on the track; I am guilty of this prediction myself. But after what he accomplished last week racing to a close second with a broken collarbone; my doubts about how tough he is are well and truly gone.

"We knew he was hurting but we did not realize his injury was that extensive. His gutsy performance in St. Louis and determination to keep racing despite his injury is a testament to his dedication to the team."

Following round nine of 17 in St. Louis, Dungey, who won two rounds this season, trails Villopoto by 13 points. Stay clicked to UltimateMotorCycling.com for updates on Dungey’s recovery, and when he’ll return to the series.